Caged
by maggeh
Summary: A lion named Sagittarium is captured by humans and put in a cage! Can he find a way to escape and get back to the pride? Written in Simba's time. Please R&R. Think I should change the rating? Say so in a review.
1. Memories of Home

**Caged **

**by Maggeh;;**

**Disclaimer : **I own Sagittarium and Sanati. TLK owns the rest.

Notes: I know it's bad. It seems totally unrelated to TLK at first, but read further x) Trust me, I was bored.

**Chapter One: Memories of Home**

Wow. This was weird.

I pressed my nose up against the bars. A pudgy finger reached toward me. Surprised, I growled and stepped back. The small human girl began to wail. Grunting, I walked slowly to the edge of the bars again. What were these? Why couldn't I break them? I had to get back to the pride. I had been in this situation for two days, but still I couldn't make sense of it.

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I had been wandering near Pride Rock, but out of sight, really. I was close, though. Within boundaries. My paws were spread out before me, for I was in a laying position beside a lake. The sun's hot rays beat down on my back, but it felt comforting. Then, an adult human male jumped out of the bushes. I was startled, alert. He muttered,

"It's okay, big lion, we're gonna help you. What's the matter? Where's the wound?"

Wound? What wound?

"Just stay calm."

I was calm. He slowly inched towards me, then stuck a needle in my side.

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I woke up in the cage. So confused! What was going on? Oh- food.

"Here you go, Rocky, old boy." A human male came up to me with a bucket.

Rocky? My name wasn't Rocky. It was Sagittarium, a name going back in my family for generations. How dare he insult it!

"We've got some nice fish for you."

... Fish. FISH?! He had to be joking.

But alas, he wasn't. The man dumped a pile of fish in my cage. I stared at it, then growled at him.

"Sorry. That's what we feed lions at the zoo. Get used to it."

Zoo? I'd heard of a zoo. Hadn't I? It was spelled S-H-O-E. I knew that much. Grumbling at my defeat, I poked the fish with an extended claw. It wasn't even _good _fish. If it was good fish, I might've considered it. Might've. But it was slimy and dry at the same time. That, I tell you, is failure.

"Aw, he's so _cute,_" a woman in front of my cage cooed.

"Yep, ma'am, he's certainly a beauty," a "zoo"keeper agreed.

"Why's he here? I didn't see him last time," the woman commented.

"Oh, we found Rocky"- UGH! - "just recently out in the Savannah. We'd been told 'e had a wound, but we couldn't find it... I'm sure it's there, though, it came from very reliable sources." Sagittarium snorted. Can't've been that reliable.

"Well, I'm sure glad you have him, he's so _adorable,"_ the woman continued.

"Why, we have some other adorable panda bears in another exhibit..." The zookeeper herded the woman away from my cage. I was glad for some peace, for a couple of seconds. Soon, a large group of children and an adult wearing a vest with apples on it appeared next to me. I sighed. Hoping to scare them away like I had done with the young human child, I roared and growled at them. This just seemed to fascinate them.

"Whoa!" a young male commented. "He's so ferocious."

"Yes, Mark, lions can be very hostile," the adult snapped in a leader-like voice. "You'd best keep away from that thing."

"I don't think so," Mark whispered.

The adult didn't hear.

"Oh, look, Miss Wilds, a deer!" A female commented.

The adult ran off to attend to the girl, leaving "Mark" unattended to. He jumped the fence surrounding my exhibit and approached my cage.

"Aw, you're not so scary," he grunted, smiling at me. "Can I pet you?"

He extended a hand- right through my bars. I looked at him in surprise. Maybe he could understand me!

"I need to get out of here," I muttered to him worriedly. "Can you get me out?"

The boy stared at me for a moment, then laughed.

"Of course!" he exclaimed.

I felt like jumping in delight. I stuck my nose near his hand and licked him.

Smiling, the boy added, "You must be talking lion language! Rocky, you make the weirdest noises."

I was crestfallen. He hadn't understood me. Worse yet, he'd called me Rocky! I snarled and withdrew my nose.

"What's the matter?"

I didn't respond. He didn't deserve attention. He'd called me ROCKY. When the human boy frowned and walked away, I sighed. I had to get back to Simba and the rest of the pride. I was, after all, the future king. They needed me.

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Simba had had a beautiful daughter named Sanati. She was incredible, with a soft golden pelt and eyes like the summer sky. We had befriended as cubs, and now, as adults, we were betrothed. Sagittarium and Sanati. But if I didn't return... Who was the heir? I didn't want to think about it. What if there was no heir?! What if the pride remained kingless?! Sanati would wait for me. I knew she would. But would Simba?

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Another sigh escaped my furry jaws. How would I get out of here?

I poked the food with my claws. Well, I was hungry. I ate a fish.


	2. Four Way Perspectives

**Caged**

**by Maggeh;;**

Thanks to my few reviewers xD You know who you are. Also, if you review my story(s), I'll be sure to check out what you've written x) Unless it's a topic that I'm unfamiliar with. Anyway... Hope you enjoy this chapter.

((up in the skies, in the land of dead kings...))

"Oh, it's working, it's working!" A cackle erupted throughout the sky.

The land of the kings was much different from the land we know. It was made entirely from clouds. All the great kings, that were dead, conversed there. Actually, they lived there. They didn't really have a choice. Scar, one of the newer "great" kings, was watching Sagittarium's situation from the clouds. It was he who had been the reliable source that informed the zoo of Sagittarium's non existent wound. It was simple. All he'd had to do was write a note. It sounded very official, Scar thought.

_Dear Highway Zoo,_

_My name is... Um... Pierre. I'm the... head zoo person. _

_It has come to my attention that there is a heavily wounded lion out in the savannah. You will probably find him unable to stand._

_He has an oddly large mane, it's a dark color. His fur is lighter. He's gorgeous._

_I want you to pick him up and take him in. That's the best chance for recovery. _

_Oh, and, eh... You won't be able to actually see his wound. It's a disease. On the inside, you see._

_Please take care of this lion. He is often seen near lakes._

_Sincerely,_

_Pierre Dove, Head Zoo Person_

Then, Scar simply dropped the letter down to the earth. He'd been getting good at this; It landed right in a zoo keeper's mail box. The guy was fooled. In no more than an hour, Scar had observed as the man pushed Sagittarium into a large truck. HAH! Scar's revenge.

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"C'mon, c'mon, we're almost there!"

A meerkat pushed his warthog friend along the sandy jungle path. The meerkat was selfish, pushy, stubborn, rude, and just plain great. His name was Timon.

"We haven't got all day!" The warthog looked down at his friend unsurely .

"Timon, I'm running as fast as I can. Please be more patient."

"Please be more patient, please be more patient, blah blah blah! We have to rescue Sagittarium!"

The warthog smiled at Timon. He was big, goofy, gullible, smart- in a stupid kind of way- and just plain great. His name was Pumbaa.

"We're almost there, you can slow down when we get there." Timon gave Pumbaa another push.

Pumbaa laughed, grinning at his small friend.

"But we're still in the jungle, Timon! If he really was taken by humans, like that lioness said, it'll take us days to get to the nearest human settlement!"

"Blah, blah, blah. Nonsense, Pumbaa, my friend. Nonsense! Hakuna Matata, stop being so worried!"

Pumbaa shrugged. "Well, I'm not worried.

"Good! Then let's continue.

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"Oh, father, I'm so worried!" Sanati groaned nervously as she waited impatiently outside the lion den, waiting for Timon, Pumbaa, and mostly Sagittarium's return.

"Don't worry, Sanati, I'm sure Sagittarium will be back soon." Simba walked up to Sanati and nuzzled her gently.

"But father, he's been gone for days! And Timon & Pumbaa are so slow, with their jibbering..."

"You know that's not true, Sanati! They'll find Sagittarium. I trust them."

The lioness sighed. "I know, father. I do too. But I'm so worried...."

Simba nuzzled her again. "We all are, I can't deny that. But our past is filled with miracles; Mohatu's reign, Ahadi's departure, my father's time, Scar's death, and your birth. Sagittarium will make it back okay."

Sanati smiled at her father. Simba was always helpful to her, he always comforted her.

"But father, who will be king, if the worst happens?"

Simba paused. "We'll talk about that later. Anyway, we don't have to worry, because he'll be back."

"Do you think that lioness was right? That he was taken by humans?"

"Probably."

"Oh, father!"

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I sure hoped they were looking for me.

I sighed and poked the fish. They were still there from the day before; I had eaten one for dinner the previous night, but I still had three remaining. They didn't look very appetizing.

"All right, Rocky, new food. This time, it's not fish!"

I turned to my zookeeper in relief, not caring that he'd called me Rocky anymore. FOOD! Other than fish! Oh, this was paradise! Well, no. But compared to what I'd had before!

"Some nice, juicy... Cow."

O.O No. Way. COW?!?!?! COW! HE'D GIVEN ME COW!

"LIONS DO NOT EAT COW!" I yelled at him. "WE EAT SAVANNAH FOOD! GIMME AN ANTELOPE, FOR PETE'S SAKE!"

"Whoa, you're getting roary," he commented. "Chill out, dude. You're scaring away the visitors."

I stalked away from him, seething with anger. This was not paradise.


	3. Clever Escape

**Caged**

**By Maggeh;;**

Remember this story? The one about the lion who was captured and put in a zoo? It's back! xD I'm starting to become slightly more active here; So here's the next chappie. DO NOT expect it to be good xP I haven't done much writing lately x/ But, I hope you enjoy it anyway x)

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This was getting very dull.

I mean, so dull, that I fell asleep most of the day. And I don't like falling asleep, and I don't often fall asleep... I'm just not a tired lion.

But the utter dullness of it all! Oh, gee. I spent the whole day, sitting in a cage, eating fish. Dry and slimy fish. Oh. Gross.

So, I decided that it had to stop! It had been awhile, and no one had come to my rescue. Was I going to take that? No! I wasn't going to stand around doing nothing! I was going to do something!

So, one night, I glanced at the door to my cage. Hmm. It was a small door; barely big enough for me to get through. But I had planned this night perfectly, and I knew what had to be done.

The zoo keeper feeding me that night was careless, and I had studied him carefully. He usually left the door wide open.. Yet he stood in front of it. So I had to fix that. And I had a perfect, perfect plan. Personally, I thought I was quite a genius.

My thoughts were disrupted as the door clattered; My keeper stepped in.

"Hi, Rocky..." he muttered, clearly exhausted.

My plan was working. As usual, he left the door open. Coughing slightly, I.. I mewed.

"Raeew.." I whimpered.

"Raeew.. raeew..."

"What's the matter, Rocky?" the zoo keeper asked, sounding bored.

"RAAEW! Raeraeww! Raeeew..." I added more volume to my pleas, made them more desperate.

"Is everything all right?" He sounded concerned now.

_MOVE! _I thought intensely. _MOVE!_

And he did. Cautiously, my zoo keeper began to move towards me. Closer and closer, until he was hunched down next to me. As soon as he got comfortable on the ground, I roared, and leapt up.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.

I pushed the keeper into a corner of my cage, then dashed out the open cage door.

"Hey! Hey! Come back here! Hey! Come back! Hey! Hey.. Well, just.. come back tomorrow?"

_You wish! _I thought triumphantly. I was free! Free! No one needed to rescue me, because I was free! Free!

And thus, I stormed away from the zoo, into the distance.

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"It's been too long. Timon and Pumbaa are probably taking a nap or something. Or hiding from hornbills. Or drowning. We have to send some good lions out!"

Sanati was no longer patient. She was angry and distressed. She would snap at the rest of the pride daily, complaining rudely about the smallest of things. She wanted nothing but Sagittarium, and would accept nothing more.

Simba was angry at her outburst.

"You have never talked of our friends that way! You've been acting horrible lately, Sanati, like you never do. You should be ashamed of your behavior!"

Sanati opened her mouth to snap at Simba, but then closed it, and simply glared at him.

Slowly, her sharp, angry features began to soften, and Sanati then fell into her father's outstretched paw, sobbing.

"Oh, I know, father, and-" She paused to cry a bit more.

"I know, and I'm so sorry... I just.. I'm so scared..." The tears kept coming.

Simba gently pushed her into a sitting position, keeping his paw firmly on her shoulder.

"I understand, Sanati. Your behavior would be unreasonable, in most circumstances. But I've been afraid before, and I've learned something. I would like to quote an old friend of mine when I say... No matter how you feel, you can still be courteous and kind to others."

Sanati stared into her father's warm, smiling eyes, and her own began to twinkle.

"I'll remember that, father. And I'll stop snapping at everyone, and.. I'm sorry."

The lioness was enveloped in her father's strong paws.

"Don't worry. Everything will be ok..."

And as Sanati uttered a final sob, Simba truthfully added, "I love you."

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Scar was furious.

Sagittarium had used a stupid trick to evade the zoo keeper, and now he was gone. Sagittarium, not the zoo keeper. Although the zoo keeper would probably be fired soon.

Scar watched Sagittarium closely. He seemed to be heading for the jungle. But he wouldn't arrive there for days. Scar smiled, then paused. What was that ahead? Hidden by the tiny grains of sand? Ah- yes... Quicksand. Thick, sticky quicksand. And the large lion running across the savannah... Was heading right for it.

Scar watched in pleasure as Sagittarium neared it; then fell into the pit. The lion gasped as he began to sink through the muck. But Scar knew Sagittarium couldn't make it out. He was tired and hungry from his time in the zoo. Oh, yes; Perhaps Scar's plan had worked, after all.

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Author's Final Notes:

1 xx The quote is from my piano teacher xD

2 xx Yes, it says sand P It's sandy where Saggy is D

3 xx Simba's kinder now, yes? x3


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